Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
The Langoliers 3
Secret Window, Secret Garden 4
The Library Policeman 3
The Sun Dog 3
Secret Window, Secret Garden 4
The Library Policeman 3
The Sun Dog 3
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
All four short stories were amazing.
The first one: the Langoliers. The story kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was such an interesting take on the time travel problem.
Second: Secret Window, Secret Garden
Predictable and gave me anxiety on how long it took for the main character to realise his reality. The ending was a nice touch though.
I can definitely see the writer’s pov in this story
Third: The library policeman
Loved it from the very beginning. I love how Stephen King uses humanity and its faults as an anxiety inducing plot device (as in the first story). The more the story progressed the less ”scary” it became but still very nice.
Fourth: The sun dog
Poor Kevin, the story was short and sweet and intriguing. Perfect soft landing for the last story.
The first one: the Langoliers. The story kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was such an interesting take on the time travel problem.
Second: Secret Window, Secret Garden
Predictable and gave me anxiety on how long it took for the main character to realise his reality. The ending was a nice touch though.
I can definitely see the writer’s pov in this story
Third: The library policeman
Loved it from the very beginning. I love how Stephen King uses humanity and its faults as an anxiety inducing plot device (as in the first story). The more the story progressed the less ”scary” it became but still very nice.
Fourth: The sun dog
Poor Kevin, the story was short and sweet and intriguing. Perfect soft landing for the last story.
Langoliers: A
Secret Window, Secret Garden: B+
Library Policeman: Weirdo-IT esque, B-
The Sun Dog: Please never make me read this again. D
Secret Window, Secret Garden: B+
Library Policeman: Weirdo-IT esque, B-
The Sun Dog: Please never make me read this again. D
Four mediocre King novellas in one collection. Of these, The Langoliers is the best (by a pretty wide margin) but even that one drags on and on. None of these are terrible per se (although be warned: The Library Policeman does have an extremely graphic and unpleasant scene of child molestation) they're just not very good, and collectively they add up to a very long and very dull collection.
Unless you're a King completest, you can safely skip this one. Read [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1329662611s/39662.jpg|2248680] instead.
Unless you're a King completest, you can safely skip this one. Read [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1329662611s/39662.jpg|2248680] instead.
The Langoliers: 4⭐️
Secret Window, Secret Garden: 3⭐️
The Library Policeman: 5⭐️
The Sun Dog: 4⭐️
Overall averages to 4 stars. A solid collection.
Secret Window, Secret Garden: 3⭐️
The Library Policeman: 5⭐️
The Sun Dog: 4⭐️
Overall averages to 4 stars. A solid collection.
The Langoliers-
Of the four novellas in this book, this is the one I've probably re-read the most. I just like the idea behind it. The waking up on a plane without any real clue to where most of the people have gone (I realize that Left Behind kind of rips off this scene). The only people left onboard are those that were asleep when whatever happened occurred. Thankfully, pilot Brian is one of those still alive. But the story takes an even worse turn towards terror when they land. On the ground, there is only silence, and they have a seriously unhinged passenger that is willing to do anything to get to his Boston meeting, even if it means murder, because soon they here the sound of the Langoliers approaching.
Secret Window, Secret Garden- I've read this one a few times, although I could not remember the ending. I like the idea of someone's guilt and anger manifesting another identity that allows you to be the monster of your worse impulses. I think the ex-wife is a little too forgiving at the end, but that's just me.
The Library Police- this story terrified me when I first read it, which is in part why I haven't re-read it. As a chronically late book returner, it scared me. But I totally forgot a huge portion of this story, so I'm very glad I finally re-read it. I also wonder if this is where Stephen King first came up with the concept of the Outsider, because I think there's a mention of the librarian being and Outsider... This is super creepy, but it also has a scene where a young boy is raped, so trigger warning. I'd have to say that this is my new favorite of this collection.
The Sun Dog- When a young boy in Castle Rock gets the Polaroid camera of his dreams, it turns out to be supernaturally menacing! So he takes it to Pops Merril (Ace Merril's greedy uncle), and Pops agrees to help, only to make things worse... because of course. It's Castle Rock, people! I think it's time to move when so many awful things keep happening in one small town, but yankees in Maine are a particularly stubborn lot. The camera only takes pictures of an ugly, mean looking dog. And it's getting closer. The ending has a delightfully sinister twist, which I enjoyed.
Of the four novellas in this book, this is the one I've probably re-read the most. I just like the idea behind it. The waking up on a plane without any real clue to where most of the people have gone (I realize that Left Behind kind of rips off this scene). The only people left onboard are those that were asleep when whatever happened occurred. Thankfully, pilot Brian is one of those still alive. But the story takes an even worse turn towards terror when they land. On the ground, there is only silence, and they have a seriously unhinged passenger that is willing to do anything to get to his Boston meeting, even if it means murder, because soon they here the sound of the Langoliers approaching.
Secret Window, Secret Garden- I've read this one a few times, although I could not remember the ending. I like the idea of someone's guilt and anger manifesting another identity that allows you to be the monster of your worse impulses. I think the ex-wife is a little too forgiving at the end, but that's just me.
The Library Police- this story terrified me when I first read it, which is in part why I haven't re-read it. As a chronically late book returner, it scared me. But I totally forgot a huge portion of this story, so I'm very glad I finally re-read it. I also wonder if this is where Stephen King first came up with the concept of the Outsider, because I think there's a mention of the librarian being and Outsider... This is super creepy, but it also has a scene where a young boy is raped, so trigger warning. I'd have to say that this is my new favorite of this collection.
The Sun Dog- When a young boy in Castle Rock gets the Polaroid camera of his dreams, it turns out to be supernaturally menacing! So he takes it to Pops Merril (Ace Merril's greedy uncle), and Pops agrees to help, only to make things worse... because of course. It's Castle Rock, people! I think it's time to move when so many awful things keep happening in one small town, but yankees in Maine are a particularly stubborn lot. The camera only takes pictures of an ugly, mean looking dog. And it's getting closer. The ending has a delightfully sinister twist, which I enjoyed.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Stephen King needs to be lengthy when he writes. His concepts are so crazy that he needs at least 300 pages to produce anything good.
Needless to say I was skeptical of King's short stories... but let me tell you: "Four Past Midnight" is good. Like, really good. Like, "hold on, let me get the chocolate covered popcorn 'cause this is gonna be a doozy," good.
Pick it up.
Needless to say I was skeptical of King's short stories... but let me tell you: "Four Past Midnight" is good. Like, really good. Like, "hold on, let me get the chocolate covered popcorn 'cause this is gonna be a doozy," good.
Pick it up.
4 short stories that ended up being a bit of a mixed bag if you ask me. 2 stand out brilliant stories, 2 that were pretty good, and 1 that was like pulling hens teeth. Overall good but not great
Like the Langoliers. The Sun Dog was annoying. Couldn't get through the Library Policeman and don't remember the fourth book